Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Yikes!
Holy shit...has it really been that long since I posted? Sorry about that folks, but sometimes RL just doesn't agree with good blogging.
Well, we're back in school, and yes I have tales aplenty. Where should I start?
We still have NINE VACANCIES to fill. That's right...NINE FUCKING VACANCIES! The sad part is that we only had four when pre-planning started, which means five other assholes already quit. As sucky as it is for the kids, it's probably for the best. If they quit before the students even come back, they probably wouldn't have been worth a shit anyway. Good riddance, I guess.
Apparently this is also "Pile Every Possible Task On Smitty Month." It's not that I mind the extra work, it's just been difficult to prioritize everything. As soon as I'm almost done with one thing, I remember two other that needed to be done last week. I know it's selfish, but when I start getting frustrated about it, I think to myself yeah, but this'll make me a shoe-in for TOTY this year. Is that wrong? It's weird because sometimes some of the people I work with make me feel like a rock star, yet at the same time I feel like all those guys on AFV getting hit in the junk by a kid with a wiffle ball bat.
One of the things I've been doing is making sure all of the new teachers receive as much assistance as possible. You know...so we don't end up with TEN FUCKING VACANCIES. For the math teachers (the Geometry and Algebra 2 ones), I've given them lesson plans for the entire year (Alg. 2 and Geometry), tests, quizzes, classroom management plans, warmup problems, and every other document I've created over the last few years that might make their lives a little easier.
Oh...and we did get a PWAP (Principal with a Penis) after all. I like him so far, but one of the first things he did was decide we needed fresh data on our students. This is actually a good idea, but it also involves creating school-wide assessments to be given on a regular basis. Guess who gets to create new school-wide math assessments every two weeks? Again, the idea is fantastic, but it's a real pain in the ass to create fair test items while at the same time making sure that every standard is only being adressed a certain number of times as well as developing the device to measure and sort the data once the tests have been given. Testing companies get paid millions of dollars each year to develop these instruments. I, however, am fortunate enough to be able to do it for free in my spare time.
Again, I'm not really complaining. It's going to be great for the students, which is what's most important after all. Besides, complaining would only attract commenters who'll pop off about teachers only working nine months out of the year, blah, blah, blah. I've been on too long of a hiatus to start telling people to fuck off already.
Meanwhile, I've also developed two sayings that I've been getting a lot of mileage out of. I'm pretty sure both of them make me sound like an asshole, but I get a kick out of them:
1) For when people are kissing my ass all over the place about trying to help out the new folks: "The water's just really shallow. I'm not actually walking on it." The true intent of this is because, although I appreciate compliments, I don't handle them very well. On the other hand, I probably just end up coming off as an arrogrant prick.
2) For when I've been given yet another task to complete for no apparent reason other than I must have a "No lube necessary" sign around my neck. "You know, one of these days, I'm going to show up for work as Clark Kent." Not only does this one shout ARROGANT PRICK again, but nobody (and I mean nobody) appreciates the humor in this. Sigh.
Anyway, it's good to be back, and I'm sure I'll have plenty more Tales From School in the weeks to come.
Later.
|
Well, we're back in school, and yes I have tales aplenty. Where should I start?
We still have NINE VACANCIES to fill. That's right...NINE FUCKING VACANCIES! The sad part is that we only had four when pre-planning started, which means five other assholes already quit. As sucky as it is for the kids, it's probably for the best. If they quit before the students even come back, they probably wouldn't have been worth a shit anyway. Good riddance, I guess.
Apparently this is also "Pile Every Possible Task On Smitty Month." It's not that I mind the extra work, it's just been difficult to prioritize everything. As soon as I'm almost done with one thing, I remember two other that needed to be done last week. I know it's selfish, but when I start getting frustrated about it, I think to myself yeah, but this'll make me a shoe-in for TOTY this year. Is that wrong? It's weird because sometimes some of the people I work with make me feel like a rock star, yet at the same time I feel like all those guys on AFV getting hit in the junk by a kid with a wiffle ball bat.
One of the things I've been doing is making sure all of the new teachers receive as much assistance as possible. You know...so we don't end up with TEN FUCKING VACANCIES. For the math teachers (the Geometry and Algebra 2 ones), I've given them lesson plans for the entire year (Alg. 2 and Geometry), tests, quizzes, classroom management plans, warmup problems, and every other document I've created over the last few years that might make their lives a little easier.
Oh...and we did get a PWAP (Principal with a Penis) after all. I like him so far, but one of the first things he did was decide we needed fresh data on our students. This is actually a good idea, but it also involves creating school-wide assessments to be given on a regular basis. Guess who gets to create new school-wide math assessments every two weeks? Again, the idea is fantastic, but it's a real pain in the ass to create fair test items while at the same time making sure that every standard is only being adressed a certain number of times as well as developing the device to measure and sort the data once the tests have been given. Testing companies get paid millions of dollars each year to develop these instruments. I, however, am fortunate enough to be able to do it for free in my spare time.
Again, I'm not really complaining. It's going to be great for the students, which is what's most important after all. Besides, complaining would only attract commenters who'll pop off about teachers only working nine months out of the year, blah, blah, blah. I've been on too long of a hiatus to start telling people to fuck off already.
Meanwhile, I've also developed two sayings that I've been getting a lot of mileage out of. I'm pretty sure both of them make me sound like an asshole, but I get a kick out of them:
1) For when people are kissing my ass all over the place about trying to help out the new folks: "The water's just really shallow. I'm not actually walking on it." The true intent of this is because, although I appreciate compliments, I don't handle them very well. On the other hand, I probably just end up coming off as an arrogrant prick.
2) For when I've been given yet another task to complete for no apparent reason other than I must have a "No lube necessary" sign around my neck. "You know, one of these days, I'm going to show up for work as Clark Kent." Not only does this one shout ARROGANT PRICK again, but nobody (and I mean nobody) appreciates the humor in this. Sigh.
Anyway, it's good to be back, and I'm sure I'll have plenty more Tales From School in the weeks to come.
Later.
|
